Of Two Hearts, Warm and Cold
by OhHowDemonsRan
Summary: She was short while he was tall. She believed not in kindness and he had always done so. She longed to float amongst starts while he had seen nearly all of them. She was the Woman, he was the Doctor. They were different, but their hearts had always beaten as two. [11/OC - starts in the middle of 'The Eleventh Hour'.]
1. Of Angels and Demons

Prologue

"Of Angels and Demons"

_no matter how close or how far, the fire in her soul had always felt the storm in his._

* * *

Victorian London was not, by any means, her favourite time period on earth - long dresses and a ridiculous amount of poorly hidden hypocrisy were but a few of the reasons why she grumbled; snow freezing her to the bone as she moved. Were one to look at her, they would see a simple girl clothed with simple attire and a pretty face: auburn curls framing a pale picture of softness, big blue eyes and pouty lips. One would never be able to see that she was more than just that but oh, how wrong they were!

She went by Irene, a name chosen by her friend Arthur after she had helped him create a new character. Before that she had been nameless – a ghost or an angel to some, to others a demon who roamed foggy streets, waiting to lure innocent men into her bed and forcing them to break the oh, so sacred vows of marriage once spoken before God.

Irene cared not about what people spoke of her – insults and stories were no more capable of hurting her than time was to take away the subtle freshness of her young-looking features. She did grow older, mind you, the years had taken a heavy toll on her mind – it was just that Father Time could not force wrinkles upon her fair skin, could not make her wither or turn her from a beautiful damsel into the unfair, simple dust that human beings were inevitably redused to.

Death merely grazed upon her cheek; waiting in the shadows but always failing to grip her arms and dragging her into the pits of hell where more fire waited for her. Death never really took her away, no, but how it had tried over and over again. The girl known as Irene knew that she would not escape it forever – she could end her lonely existence once and for all if she wanted to, and yet her a bubble of sadness formed inside her chest every time that she thought of it for, even after centuries of empty longing, she still clung to the childish hope that he would return for her.

While she had embraced her new name, you must know that Irene had a title – a title which she chose; a title which was yet another inspiration for the writer known as Doyle. The Woman. Just that – nothing more, nothing less. She was simply the Woman; the only lady of Time.

It was snowing again when she was able to escape her own thoughts and focus on her surroundings – her breath forming little clouds as she exhaled, her unprotected hands as cold as her feet. She cared not to examine the temperature any more than she did to ignore her instinct, which forced her to stumble into a dark alley – curiosity sparking her interest for the first time in over fifty earth years. With cautious steps, the Woman approached something hidden in the shadows, a big box which appeared to sing to her – invisible threads pulling her towards it.

She knew that he was there before he even turned the corner; her small hand pressed to the wall of the bluest blue she had ever seen in her 800 years of life. She felt him breathe before he even noticed her presence. And she smelled the regeneration energy as he stopped dead in his tracks before turning around to face a man whom she knew so, so well and yet did not recognize one bit.

"Hey there, soldier. How goes the day?"

Her hearts beat faster than ever before.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well hello, there! This is my first DW fic so comments, suggestions or cookies would be very, very welcome. I won't bore you with a long Author's Note or spoilers before the story even took off, but hey, how does it look? Oh, sorry I stole the line from River - I just had to do it. It fits like a buttery glove of fluff.

**DISCLAIMER - Nope, I don't own Doctor Who any more than I own Karen and Matt's hair. Or do I? [insert evil laugh]**


	2. Of Hellos and Goodbyes

Chapter One

"Of Hellos and Goodbyes"

_living for hundreds of years is like waiting for an oncoming storm as you walk through the fire, letting it burn over and over again_

* * *

**There was fire; fire everywhere - children crying out while their parents were killed before their eyes, ruthless machines ending lives so precious. She had done her best to help, she had sacrificed four regenerations - four people that she used to be were now gone; she knew not who she was, nor what her new personality would drive her to do. To most, she was known as_ The Woman Who Brought The Fire_; the child of Time who had dizimated hundreds of Daleks. But it hadn't been enough, had it? Her efforts were but her way of soothing her guilty mind for she knew, deep inside her hearts, that the War would never end. No matter how hard they tried, Gallifrey was doomed and the Daleks would continue to exist, they would continue to kill and not her nor any other Timelord could do anything about it.**

**The Woman was running, running faster than she had ever ran before - running towards freedom and a life as a renegade; a coward amongst heroes, the one who ran instead of burning for her people. Now, as she stepped into the damaged TARDIS, the Woman was starting to realize just who she truly was: a frightened child, so unlike her previous incarnations - a timelady who no longer desired to stay and watch as death surrounded her and the ones she loved. More than anything, she was someone who regretted having stayed behind as the man flew away in his time machine. _Theta._**

**Pressing buttons and pushing levers, the Woman knew that she would never stare into those eyes again - the TARDIS she was stealing was unrelyable and could take her anywhere, any time. She was alone - the last lady of Time, the one with a soul of fire.**

**She wouldn't see him again. **

**And the thought of it, as the TARDIS started working - the console nearly breaking apart, was enough to drive her towards the edge of insanity.**

»»» «««

Those eyes - they were so green now - stared her down in a way that made her soul shake and her hearts stop; a breath escaping her parted lips when it dawned on her that he had no idea who she was, that no sign of recognition could be seen on his face. What did she expect? She had regenerated plenty of times since the last time they had met and, truth be told, not even a shadow of whom she had been inhabited this new body - a body that had risen during a time of destruction, one that hadn't truly left the War. The Woman was afraid that, no matter how many centuries she spent on this sad, tragic planet, she wouldn't be able to escape the dreams and the memories. That she wouldn't be able to escape the oh, so bitter guilt that she had yet to let go of. If she were to be alone, so be it, but she had enough dignity left not to just stand there as her hearts broke.

"Ah, pardon me, sir. I've mistaken you for a friend," A soft smile spread upon her face, not reflecting the pain she felt for him, "I shan't take up any more of your time. Good evening."

He knew she was lying, of course he did. What puzzled the Doctor was that he, who was not yet accustomed to this new body, seemed to recognize the girl who stood before him, although he was sure never to have seen her face before. He wouldn't have forgotten such a beauty, he was sure of that. She was short, much shorter than him - probably around 5'1 - and possessed the curves of a woman, not of a child of (he estimated) only twenty-two. Her hair was long, fire-coloured curls falling down her back, and her eyes... blue, the bluest blue ever - bluer than his TARDIS, bluer than the earth's sky. And, adding to the Doctor's curiosity, she had spoken as if he were an old friend, perhaps even a lost lover. Her voice had been drenched in both longing and pain - the voice of someone who had waited a very, very long time to see him again. When she had spoken again, however, it was as if she tried desperately to hide something that he had yet to discover. Ah, choosing London over the moon had been a very good idea.

What he missed, though - and one must keep in mind that he was still within the first 15 hours of his regeneration cycle - was that the girl's eyes possessed something that he too saw in the mirror. Age. Many years of age - years which didn't reflect upon her young body. And, mind you, he probably would have noticed that detail - a detail so small yet so big - if piercing screams hadn't filled the air. The Doctor's first thought was: "_ALIENS. ALIENS IN VICTORIAN LONDON. AH, AH, GERONIMO!" _But then he realized the girl was gone and that small footprints on the snow - which had to be hers - seemed to head in the direction of the screaming_. _All he could do was follow her.

To the Woman's surprise, the screaming was not due to an attack of some sort of intergalactical beings seeking revenge, but related to a very large man who forced himself upon a girl - a mere child - her dress thorn and (_oh, for the sake of Gallifrey_) a very sharp knife grazing the victim's neck. Her first instinct was to run - it seemed as if she was always running away from everything these days - but, for once since she left home, the red-head threw herself at the man, distracting him long enough for the frightened human to run away, clutching the pieces of her ruined dress. To her great dismay, the man quickly regained his composure; throwing her onto the snow-covered ground and, after the Timelady hit him in a very important part of the male anatomy with her heel, dug the knife into her stomach - twisting it mercilessly before escaping, leaving her bleeding; crimson blood tainting the white snow. "_Well,_" she thought, "_I'm never doing that again now, am I?_"

What felt like hours to her were but a few minutes to the Doctor, who witnessed the man's departure and now slowly made his way towards the fallen ginger, shock masking his face. She had simply gone and gotten herself killed - just like that! And she looked to quiet, so concentrated, so peaceful. One would think that she had died plenty of times before. The bowtie-wearing alien knelt down next to her, knowing fully well that there was nothing he could do to help - she was doomed. It appeared as if she knew that as well for she opened her blue eyes, smiled brightly at him - well, as brightly as someone who had been brutally stabbed could do so - and whispered a simple; "You might want to step back."

He did was she asked of him - it was the least he could do - but confusion ran through his mind. How in the world had everything happened so quickly? Alien meets girl, girl runs off, girl gets stabbed and dies; all under ten minutes and after having spoken not more that thirty words. He was still pondering on the peculiar twist of events when he saw the golden light that emanated from her body.

Then, as he stared with him mouth open - his chin sticking out in a ridiculous way - the penny dropped.

After so many years of experience, all the timelord could say, stupefied, was: "Blimey!"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Hey, hoe, hello! Ah, two chapters in less than a day - I'm getting quite good at this. Well. Let's just pretend, shall we? I know that this chapter was short and filled with thousands of different things, but I really wanted everything to go by like a flash - confusing the Doctor and, later on, the Woman for how stupid she was. Ah yes, the penny dropped. This is just the beginning, mind you, the serious conversations and the mysteries of this fanfic will be answered soon enough but until then, stick around, Pond!

Any comments, suggestions and just timey wimey stuff would be very appreciated!

Allons-y!


	3. Of Love, Guilt and Everything In Between

Chapter Two

"Of Love and Guilt and Everything In Between"

_But I'll take my time if you want to, and I'll give you whatever you need. And I'll wait a lifetime to give it to you._

_Give in to you._

― **Jackson Waters, Center of Attention**

* * *

The pain was intense; her body shifting and transforming as she let go of whom she had been and replaced it with someone new and fresh, someone unknown even to the Woman - that was always the hard part when it came to regeneration, not changing, but loosing yourself. She could not help but to fall onto the bloodied snow when it was over, taking a deep breath before examining her new hands - small, thin, pretty. Blonde curls - oh, at least I didn't lose my curls, I rather like them - fell over her eyes and the timelady noted silently that her eyesight was much poorer that it had been. Nothing she couldn't deal with. She rose from the ground, her legs shaking as she did so, and her gaze fell upon the very confused timelord who stood in front of her; his mouth open like a fish. He cleared his throat, ran a hand through his floppy hair and spoke; a hint of bewilderment tainting his calm demeanor.

"Hello."

The Woman's reply was instantaneous, something which she had not truly expected. Her previous incarnation had been quiet and shy; a loner, a dreamer, a girl who carried fire in her mind. It didn't take her long to learn that this new one carried that same fire in her soul. "Hello."

You see, it wasn't the word she spoke that had amazed her; it had been the flirty, low tone it had been whispered as - more of a seductive moan than actual speech. Well. She was a flirter now, had to get used to it.

While the timelady managed to have a conversation with herself, the timelord was still standing there - trying to wrap his mind around everything that had happened in just a few hours. He regenerated, crashed in a little girl's backyard, ate fish custard, broke a promise, saved the world with three minutes to spare, travelled to Victorian London, met a girl, the girl got stabbed and regenerated. He was very used to confusing, surprising days, mind you, but the Doctor couldn't exactly call this one just another Friday. No, this was so much more than that; he wasn't alone. There was another person who shared his race, his heritage, his memories of home.

Then, he started thinking things through. This timelady knew him? What, from the Academy? Was she one of his late wife's friends? Nah, she had sounded much more intimate towards him than that. The possibility rose within him like a flower blossoming in early days of Spring; filling him with a hope that had left him the day Gallifrey burnt.

The name stumbled from his lips before he could stop it, embracing the letters as a father embraced his child - softly, gently; a whisper of a name he had pushed into the furthest corner of his mind. "Antheia?"

»»»«««

**It had always been the three of them; Koschei, Theta and Antheia, making the Academy stir with their crazy, brilliant plans - mere experiences that kept them busy an everyone else entertained. Even though Koschei was his best friend, though, Anthy was more than that - she was the playful girl who had slowly crept into his hearts and unknowingly claimed them. With her, he had created memories, made plans for the future... His first kiss had been with her.**

**Such an innocent, naïve touch it had been; the beginning of something that could have lasted for a never-ending eternity. Then, he had been forced to marry one of her best friends and it all vanished away. Antheia too married - an arrangement just like his - and they had lost their former closeness. What pained Theta most was that, even after having his first child with his wife, Altheia was still his love, still the girl he wanted to Mate with. **

**When Gallifrey burnt, he thought she had burned with it. And the guilt almost destroyed him.**

»»»«««

The now blonde nodded slowly, her teeth grazing over her bottom lip – lightly biting it in anticipation; waiting for him to say something else, anything else. Did he still care for her, even after all those years – all that fire? Did he still remember their childish conversations, their crazy experiments, their first kiss? Did his mind still hold on to the feeling of her lips on his – tenderness drenching the chaste display of affection?

Hers did. _Oh, now I'm melancholic too. That's new… Not sure how to feel about it._ Even after she got married, she never truly gave herself to her husband – she was a proper wife, but she never Mated with him; marriage was one thing, Mating was so much more than just words and empty promises. In the back of her mind, the Woman had always hoped that Theta would be her Mate; even as she saw him get married as well, having children, building his own life… Hope never truly left her. And now there they were – alone. The last of their kind. Lost children of Time, drifting across the galaxies. How ironic it seemed; how bittersweet.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was still flabbergasted; still too shocked to produce anything other than incoherent blubbering. She was there; she was there, alive and well and there. Yes. She had also just regenerated in front of him and a string of guilt tugged at his hearts when the timelord realized that Antheia, his Antheia, had been far too calm for it to be the first time. How many regenerations had she wasted in the war? Should he tell her what he felt for her? No, that would be wrong. Especially if she didn't feel the same. Instead, as one would greet an old friend (who wasn't in the same position as them), the Doctor simply smiled and coughed; holding out his hand.

"How long has it been since you've been in a TARDIS?"

That settled it, then. They wouldn't have some meaningful, teary-eyed conversation about the war or Gallifrey or their feelings – at least not yet. First, they had to embrace the situation. So Antheia simply flashed him a grin. "Far too long, Doctor. Also, what kind of name is that – I never got to ask you. Pretentious much, dear Theta? A timelord called the Doctor… Well, I guess it does suit you but I don't know, always figured that you'd choose something more… discreet. Oh, God, I ramble now."

The Doctor merely laughed and, faking an offended expression, replied. "Hey! Which title did you pick, then?"

"The Woman. Simple, elegant and mysterious."

"Rubbish title."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

»»»«««

The Woman sat by the TARDIS door, listening to her friend speak to a woman – his new companion, he had told her. After minutes of angry Scottish scolding and Theta being awkward – oh, she'd have a blast with this new him – the girl finally stepped through the doors; a ginger woman in her nightie.

And the fun began.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, be honest, how badly does it suck? I sort of wanted them to leave their feelings behind - they're still both in slight shock and trying to push away years of repressed memories. I didn't want the Doctor and the Woman to just magically express their love for each other, I actually want them to develop their relationship. Ah, also, I imagine the Woman's new incarnation looking like the brilliant **_BRITTANY SNOW_**!

Next chapter we have **THE BEAST BELOW**, so that's interesting! How will the Woman fit into the Ponds' journey with the Doctor from now on? Stick around to find out.

Reviews, suggestions and stuffs are most welcome! Thank you to those who favourited and placed this story on alert!


	4. Of Discovery and Beasts Below

Chapter Three

"Of Discovery and Beasts Below"

_In bed above, we're deep asleep, while greater love lies further deep. This dream must end, this world must know, we all depend on the beast below._

* * *

The Woman stood near the console, watching with a smile as the Doctor held onto Amelia's foot; her red hair flowing as she floated amongst the stars. Those little things, his small acts of kindness that could easily not be done, would forever be one of the reasons why her hearts were his.

She just watched as he laughed out a "Come on, Pond." and pulled the girl back inside, joy clearly displayed on her pretty face.

"Now do you believe me?" The timelord asked, a smile still spread on his lips. Amy's face was a mix of excitement and astonishment when she replied.

"Okay, your box is a spaceship." Both the women in the TARDIS couldn't help but laugh. "It's really, really a spaceship... WE ARE IN SPACE!" Amy stopped for a moment, inhaling deeply before shooting the Doctor a confused look. "How are we breathing?"

The Woman took the liberty of answering her question, running her fingertips slowly over the console. "He's extended the air shell. Technically, we're breathing your average, everyday air. Cool, huh?" Amy smiled and nodded as a response, opening her mouth to speak but being interrupted by the Doctor, who now peaked out of the blue box.

"Now that's interesting." Before the Woman could move to take a look as well, he continued, running towards the console and pressing some buttons. "29th century, solar flares roast the earth and the entire human race packs its bags and moves out until the weather improves..."

He was so wrapped up in his own explanation (who no one was really listening to) that he failed to notice Amelia's absence and her cries of "Doctor?" which came from the outside of the TARDIS. The Woman grinned and went to open the doors, finding a very distressed looking Amy Pond, gripping the box for dear life.

She held out her hand and pulled the ginger back inside, leaving the Doctor to his talking; linking her arm with Amelia's - a smirk on her lips. "Come on, we found ourselves a ship. Well, not just a ship - a city and a ship. Brilliant!"

The man approached them, grinning as he continued filling the women in on what the spaceship really was; rubbing his hands in excitement as the three of them - the timelords and the Scottish human stared at the screen which displayed the ship in amazement. "This is the United Kingdom of Britain; an island, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK, that's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's... That's an idea. A whole country, living and laughing and... Shopping."

Amy laughed and, as she did, the Woman stepped towards the console again; landing the TARDIS while the Doctor finished his speech - causing the ginger to ask: "Can we go out and see?"

The timelord walked towards the Woman, fiddling with the main screen and turning it on. "Of course we can but first, there's a thing. An important thing, in fact, thing one. We are observers only; that's the only rule I've ever stuck to in all my travels. We don't get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets."

The screen finally lit up, showing them a young girl; silently crying as she sat on a little bench - people walking by as if nothing mattered. The Woman rolled her eyes at the Doctor and slowly made her way outside, knowing that her friend wouldn't acknowledge her disappearance for a few more minutes - still dressed in her bloodied, thorn dress as she came up to the girl.

"Hey, there. You alright, honey?" The Woman's warm smile wasn't enough to make the girl trust her, for she simply got up and ran off. Well then, that meant trouble - trouble that needed to be investigated. Brilliant!

The Doctor and Amy finally caught up with her, his arm draped around the ginger's shoulders as he spoke. "Come on, use your eyes. Notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?"

"Is it the bicycles? Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles." The Doctor just grinned, eyeing her up and down with an amusing expression on his young-looking face. "Says the girl in the nightie."

This earned him a very panicked look from his companion who, after taking a good look at herself, screeched. "Oh my God, I'm in my nightie!"

The woman dismissed her comment with a wave of her hand, once again linking their arms together as her eyes scanned the place; shooting the Doctor a glance. "You're in your nightie and I'm in a Victorian dress which is soaked in dry blood. Let's not talk 'bout style, yeah? But now, Amy, listen to the Doctor. Actually look around; bicycles are peculiar, yes, but what else?"

The timelords shared a look as their companion focused, trying to see thing through their eyes. Probably as a way of helping, the Doctor picked up where the Woman left off. "Life on a giant starship. Back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state; excuse me."

He walked up to a small table where a couple sat, picking up a pint glass of water and putting it down on the floor; ignoring the couple's questions. The Doctor looked at the glass for a second and, after the Woman knelt down to examine it as well, returned it to the table. "Sorry. Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish." He tapped his nose and grabbed the Woman's hand, pulling her back towards a very confused Amy. "Where was I?"

"Why did you just do that with the water?" The ginger inquired, looking at the Woman who just shrugged; still clinging to the timelord's hand. She had no idea that she had missed someone's touch so much - years of war and destruction had made her forget about comfort and simple things such as hand-holding. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she only managed to catch the end of the Doctor's reply. "Do you see it yet?"

Amy blinked, trying to follow the man's eyes. "Where?" The response came as a snap of the Doctor's fingers; a smile slowly spreading on his face. "There."

The Woman saw it too; the same little girl, weeping quietly. Something was very, very wrong with that picture - she could feel it in her hearts, so she nodded towards the Doctor and he walked up to the human child. The Woman dragged Amelia towards a bench and they both sat down, waiting for the Doctor whom, a few minutes later, joined them - a thoughtful look on his face. It took mere seconds before Amy broke the silence with a question. "One little girl crying. So?"

The Doctor leaned back, his voice vaguely tinted by emotion as he spoke. "Crying silently. I mean, children cry because they want attention, because they're hurt or afraid. But when they cry silently, it's because they just can't stop." The Woman couldn't stop herself; her discomfort growing by the minute and finally, at the same time as the Doctor, she added. "Any parent knows that."

Curiousity hit the ginger, who raised an eyebrow. "Are you parents?"

While the Doctor deflected the question easily, the Woman wasn't able to do so. Her fists clenched, her eyes became cruel and furious and her breath caught in her throat as if she were holding back a growl - something which happened every time someone mentioned the possibility of her having children. The timelord obviously noted his friend's distress but something burned slowly inside him as well. He had never thought that his Antheia would have gone and had children... Sure, they had stopped seeing each other regularly after she and his wife had some sort of argument but... Would he not have known? The Woman's voice stopped his thoughts and he could see that she had gone back to being herself; following her own train of thought.

"Think about it, lots of people walking by and, statistically, some of them - maybe even most of them - are parents or have little siblings or cousins. If this was a normal situation, they'd go and help. But not even one of them have stopped; they don't ask why she's upset because they already know and they don't want to get involved."

The Doctor couldn't help but grin, his former thoughts forgotten as he realized that they shared the same conclusion. "Which means that it's something they don't talk about. Secrets. They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows, whatever they're afraid of, it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state."

The girl walked into a lift and, upon noticing it, Amy sat up straighter, her eyebrows furrowed. "Where'd she go?"

"Deck two oh seven. Apple Sesame block, dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner." He held up a finger and reached into his pocket, pulling out some sort of colourful wallet and handing it to Amy. "Oh, er, this fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her. Took me four goes. Ask her about those things. The smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."

Playing with the wallet, the human raised her eyebrows, shrugging gently. "But they're just things."

The Woman chose to answer her comment, eyeing the booths were smiley-looking dolls sat; examining both them and the ground around them. "Yes, they're things. They're clean things. This is a busy street, everyone's walking by and the floor is absolutely dirty but the real question is; why isn't the ground around the booths? What makes people so afraid that they don't even dare go near them?"

The Doctor cut her off, turning his eyes towards Amelia. "Look. Ask Mandy, why are people scared of the things in the booths?"

The ginger shook her head, hissing at the man, slightly embarrassed. "No, hang on. What do I do? I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed."

He smirked, knowing in his mind that he'd won. "It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose?" A finger of his tapped Amelia's shoulder. "Ha ha, gotcha. Meet us back here in half an hour."

Amy's voice took up a childish tone. "What are you going to do?"

The answer came in the same tone the young woman had used. "What I always do. Stay out of trouble." He got up and stopped as if reminiscing on past experiences. "Badly. The Woman's helping me." With that, he jumped over the bench and grabbed the timelady's hand again; pulling her with him. They were starting to walk away when Amy called out. "So is this how it works, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?"

The Doctor had no chance of replying because the Woman did it for him, a sad smile on her lips. "Yes."

They turned their backs on Amy and started to walk away.

»»»«««

As they walked towards the ship's engine room, the Doctor decided that it was time to question the Woman about the previous conversation they had had with Amy - the one about children. Truthfully, he was hoping that she would answer his question affirmatively - the other alternative made his hearts clench with jealousy. "Where they... Loomed?" The Woman's small hand tightened the grip on his own and she slowly shook her head - blonde curls falling over her pretty blue eyes.

"No. I never wanted my children to be created like that; it always seemed so... Impersonal. No. They were properly born." And they had grown into beautiful little girls, full of life and happiness. They were her babies, her perfect little babies. Then the war came and their lives were cut short - they never really stood a chance against the Daleks; she had not been able to protect them. After that day, something inside Antheia had changed - something important. Like a lion who's cubs had been harmed she went into a frenzy; left her husband behind and began her lonely hunt. That was when the Bringer of Fire had been born: to some hope, to others doom. It mattered not, though, because she craved fire and death and vengeance. Up until the day she gave up and ran for her life, the Woman wanted only to avenge her babies.

The Doctor nodded, swallowing the pain and guilt that drenched his hearts. It was one thing to know that she had been married - he had been at the wedding, after all - but picturing his friend rounded with another man's children; looking into tiny little faces that mirrored not his own... It was devastating. He had always wanted to be that man. Then, he remembered something. When he had sacrificed Gallifrey... Had he sacrificed her children as well? Were they gone because of him; of what he had done?

The disgust he felt must have showed on his face for the Woman nudged him and spoke, her voice tiny - barely a whisper. "It wasn't you."

At that moment, they both knew that the conversation was over, even if just momentarily. Silently, they climbed down a ladder and, as the Doctor started feeling the walls, the Woman just stood there - listening carefully, her brows furrowed in deep thought. There were sounds, but not the right ones, there should have been noise; specific noise - machines made noise, ships made noise. But then again, when moving, there should have been some sort of vibration coming from the floor and there wasn't. It was impossible.

She stepped closer to the Doctor who had just scanned the walls with his screwdriver; mumbling in disbelief. "Can't be."

"Doctor?" The Woman's attention was no longer directed towards him for she noticed a glass of water on the floor. She quickly knelt down to observe it and the Doctor soon joined her - laying on his stomach.

The sound of footsteps filled the empty hallway and, when she looked up, the Woman found someone in a mask - a perfect mask that appeared to be supported only by it's owner's face.

"The impossible truth in a glass of water. Not many people see it. But you do, don't you, Doctor? Woman?"

The timelord rose to his feet, watching the cloaked woman; walking around her. "You know us?" The cloaked woman's reply came as a scold. "Keep your voice down. They're everywhere. Tell me what you see in the glass."

He raised an eyebrow, almost testing the woman. "Who says I see anything?"

The provocation seemed to work like a charm. "Don't waste time. At the marketplace, you placed a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, then came straight here to the engine room. Why?"

The timelady gently slapped her friend's shoulder and shrugged, her voice neutral. "The water doesn't move - the ground is still; completely still, abnormally still. A ship this size should have a big engine and big engines vibrate. So, either this one didn't or..."

She shrugged again, allowing the Doctor to take over, which he gladly did; approaching a power box and opening it. "We thought we'd take a look. It doesn't make sense. These power couplings, they're not connected. Look. Look, they're dummies, see? And behind this wall, nothing. It's hollow. If I didn't know better, I'd say there was..."

The three of them came to the same conclusion at the same time. "No engine at all."

The Doctor walked up to the women again. "But it's working. This ship is travelling through space. I saw it."

The masked woman answered him, a hint of desperation in her muffled voice. "The impossible truth, Doctor. We're travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly."

The woman lifted her eyebrows, her brain trying to find solutions for the impossible dilemma. "How?"

It was, apparently, a question without a proper answer. "I don't know. There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us, timelords. You're our only hope. Your friend is safe. This will take you to her. Now go, quickly!"

She handed the Doctor a tracking device and turned on her heel, leaving the two aliens behind. The timelord glanced at her before speaking up. "Who are you? How do we find you again?"

The woman stopped, turned around again to face them. "I am Liz Ten, and I will find you."

The lights started flickering; distracting both the Doctor and the Woman as "Liz Ten" left.

The timelords shared a nod and, without further questions, started moving according to the tracker - wanting to find Amy before things got even more bizarre. It didn't take them long to get to Voting Booth 330C, where they heard Amy's desperate recorded voice saying "You've got to find the Doctor and the Woman..." but, before they could hear the rest of what the Woman assumed was a message, the ginger turned it off.

The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks, cautious as he asked. "What have you done?"

Seeing as they got no reply from Amy, the Doctor bounced into the voting booth and scanned a device that sat in the ceiling which looked like a harmless lamp. "Yeah, your basic memory wipe job. Must have erased about twenty minutes." Amy, still slightly confused as to what exactly was going on, just crossed her arms and inquired. "But why would I choose to forget?"

Mandy walked carefully towards the door, providing them with the explanation they were all looking for. "Because everyone does. Everyone chooses the Forget button." The Doctor stepped towards her and, with a warm smile, asked her if she had done so as well. He was rewarded with a peculiar look from the girl, who carried on as if she were speaking to a five year old. "I'm not eligible to vote yet. I'm twelve. Any time after you're sixteen, you're allowed to the see the film and make your choice. And then once every five years."

The Woman rolled her eyes at that, plopping down on the chair that rested in front of the monitors. "Then everyone chooses to blissfully forget what they saw? Ah, democracy never changes, now, does it?" The Doctor blinked at her, which caused the Woman to cross her arms over her chest. "Just because I didn't travel as much as you doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Before the man could reply, Mandy glanced at the timelords. "How do you not know about this? Are you Scottish too?" The Doctor laughed, examining the monitors. "Oh, we're way worse than Scottish. We can't even see the movie. Won't play for me, probably won't play for her."

Amy cut in, half-confused, half-curious. "It played for me." The Woman shook her head, waving a hand in the air as she explained. Boredom was starting to get to her; apparently she was now restless, always in need of adventure and mystery. Should be entertaining enough. "The computer only plays for human being. We are not deemed as human being. Therefore, the video doesn't play."

The answer wasn't good enough for Amy. "Why not? You look human."

The Doctor smiled in amusement, answering the ginger's question. "No, you look Time Lord. We came first." The Woman was about to say something when Amy cut her off again, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. "So there are other timelords, yeah?"

It took the man a second before he could speak. "No. There were, but there aren't. Just us now. Long story. There was a bad day. Bad stuff happened. And you know what? I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever. Because this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This. Hold tight. We're bringing down the government."

The Woman shot up from her seat when the Doctor hit the Protest button; the door slamming behind them, locking them in. The huge doll inside the booth went from smiling to having a rather cross-looking scowl on it's face - the floor shifting to reveal a long fall into the unknown. With a grin, the Doctor looked at the women. "Say wheee!"

While the Woman let out a loud laugh and jumped into the hole, she heard Amy yell a strangled "Argh!" as both she and the Doctor jumped in as well.

»»»«««

The Woman fell down a tube into what looked like organic waste; the smell in the place completely terrible. She got up, coveted in goo and just as she did, the Doctor landed next to her, followed by a screaming Amy Pond.

He too got on his feet, quickly scanning his surroundings - looking almost happy with the situation. "Argh! High speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel."

The ginger grabbed a bit of the waste, looking rather disgusted as she asked. "Where are we?"

He kept scanning as Amy got up with shaky legs. "Six hundred feet down, twenty miles laterally, puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say Lancashire. What's this then, a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave."

The ginger looked at the Woman and threw a bit of goo towards the timelady; grinning as she made her assumption. "It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!"

The Doctor dropped to his knees and started looking through the waste. "Yes, but only food refuse. Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

The Woman started looking around and slowly, hearing her friend's voices in the background (with a little help from a distant animal's noise), put the pieces together. "Doctor? Amy? This is definitely not a floor."

The timelord shot her a puzzled look before his eyes lit up with understanding. The human, on the other hand, got up and asked them what it was. The Doctor grabbed Amy's hands and, as the Woman held back a laugh, explained. "The next word is kind of a scary word. You probably want to take a moment, get yourself in a calm place. Go omm." Amy obliged and, like ripping off a band-aid, the Woman spoke up. "We're in a mouth. Standing on a tongue if you want to be specific."

Amy's reply was almost drenched in apathy. "A tongue?"

The Doctor nodded, his eyes shining as if he were a little child on Christmas morning. "A tongue. A great big tongue!" Again, apathy. "This is a mouth. This whole place is a mouth?" Followed by a bit of anger. "We're in a mouth?!" Still, the Doctor was still happy - ecstatic even. "Yes, yes, yes. But on the plus side, roomy." Then, came Amy Pond's panic. "How do we get out?!"

Her concerns went unnoticed as the Doctor, once again scanned the mouth, his thoughts drifting slightly. "How big is this beastie? It's gorgeous. Blimey, if this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach... Though not right now."

The Woman ignored them, walking forward carefully and finding a wall of lovely big teeth; meaning that they were trapped. Behind her she heard Amy sat something, right before the tongue started vibrating. "Too late. It's started." The Doctor yelled, making the ginger ask him what. The three of them fell to the "floor", slipping on the tongue.

"That thing that I really didn't want to happen, Amy. Doctor, what are you doing?" The woman yelled out as the timelord soniced the poor animal's mouth. "I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors.

Amy tried to get up but failed, yelling also. "Chemo-what?"

While the Woman mumbled an "Oh!", the Doctor just nodded, turning his head to Amy. "The eject button!"

Still, the ginger didn't get the euphemism. "How does a mouth have an eject button?"

The Woman gripped Amy's arm and, as they finally managed to get up, smirked. "This is going to be brilliant!"

Then, a huge wave of vomit came their way which made Amy look perplex and the Woman clean off the front of her dress - preparing herself.

The last thing they heard before the wave hit was the Doctor. "Right, then. This isn't going to be big on dignity. Geronimo!"

»»»«««

The Doctor was examining a door when Amy came to her senses; the Woman sitting next to her as she sat up - trying to see if the timelord had evaluated her health properly. "You're absolutely fine - no broken bones, no concussion signs... Your bum will probably hurt for the next few days and..."

The Doctor chimed in as he soniced the huge metal door. "Yes, you are covered in sick."

Standing up, the young woman asked. "Where are we?" "Overspill pipe, at a guess." But Amy's attention was now directed towards somewhere else as she scrunched up her nose. "Oh, God, it stinks."

The Woman bit her bottom lip before whispering in Amy's ear. "Yeah... Smell's not coming from the pipe."

Amy leaned in to sniff the Woman's hair and then sniffed herself, almost gagging as she turned to the Doctor. "Oh. Phew. Can we get out?"

"One door, one door switch, one condition. We forget everything we saw. Look familiar?" The three of them glanced at a Forget button before the Doctor continued. "That's the carrot."

A couple of Smiler booths lit up, making the Woman mumble under her breath. "The stick wasn't far away."

Walking towards the booths, the Doctor spoke. "There's a creature living in the heart of this ship. What's it doing there?" The head of the dolls turned, changing from a smile to a deep frown. The Woman was about to tell her friend to shut up when he continued. "No, that's not going to work on me, so come on. Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?"

The frown changed into a scowl and the Woman took a step back, placing a hand on the Doctor's wrist and hissing quietly so that only he could hear her. "Theta!" Once again she was ignored, for the timelord just kept talking. "Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving and I'm not forgetting, and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues, huh? "

The booths opened, allowing the dolls to step out. By instinct, the Woman hit the back of the Doctor's head. "You idiot!"

Amy managed to let out a horrified "Doctor?" before Liz came up behind them; shooting the dolls. The Doctor smiled, fear slowly leaving his mind. "Look who it is. You look a lot better without your mask."

Liz grinned, walking up to the ginger. "You must be Amy. Liz. Liz Ten." Amy simply let out a breathless, "Hi." as she shook the Woman's hand.

Liz wiped the goo off her hand and started walking. "Yuck. Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick." Stepping towards the door, Liz pulled Mandy forward. "You know Mandy, yeah? She's very brave."

The Doctor, however, was more keen on knowing how the woman had found them.

"Stuck my gizmo on you. Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?"

The Doctor spoke again. "You're over sixteen, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it." Liz looked bored as she answered him. "No. Never forgot, never voted, not technically a British subject."

The Woman grinned, putting yet another set of pieces together; her face lighting up with a smile. Liz returned said smile before turning to the Doctor who was speaking to her. "Then who and what are you, and how do you know me?"

Liz's voice turned soft. "You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, M.O consistent with higher alien intelligence... hair of an idiot. I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was." "Your family?" She was about to answer when the dolls started moving; twitching on the floor.

"They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move."

They all followed Liz; the Doctor holding Amy and the Woman's hands as they walked past the Forget button.

They walked through what looked as a basement when Liz spoke. "The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Tea and scones with Liz Two. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted and exiled you on the same day. So much for the Virgin Queen, you bad, bad boy. And the Woman, love of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the inspiration for Irene Adler."

The Doctor blinked, pointing at the woman who walked in front of him. "Liz Ten!" He was cut in by the Woman's mumbles of "Me and Arthur were just friends!"

"Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And down!" Liz turned and they all ducked; shooting the repaired Smilers again. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule."

They started walking faster, going through a corridor as Liz locked the door behind them. "There's a high-speed Vator through there. Oh, yeah. There's these things." About half a dozen tentacles were banging on the grading; trying to escape. The Woman stepped towards them; her hearts breaking as the creature tried to reach out to them. She knew, she just knew, that something was horribly wrong in that ship. The Doctor stood next to her and took her hand, squeezing it before answering their companion's question. Not that the Woman knew what it was... She was focused on the creature. "Oh, Amy. We should never have come here."

»»»«««

They group was brought to Liz's bedroom - the women sitting on the bed while the Doctor stood between dozens of glasses of water. "Why all the glasses?"

Liz's face was one of disappointment; borderline disgust even. "To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what." The Doctor picked up Liz's mask, a smile on his lips. "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?"

This seemed to strike a nerve, for Liz sat up. "Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this. My entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon."

For the first time since they had walked into the chambers, the Woman spoke; carefully eyeing the mask. "10 years? You were about what... 30 when you came to the throne?"

This earned her a laugh from the queen herself. "Forty. Why?"

Amy gasped, looking at Liz as if she were alien. "What, you're fifty now? No way."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."

Oh, but the Woman's mind was working fast. She reached out and took the mask from the Doctor - examining it in every angle; sniffing it even. She only managed to hear the Doctor say: "Oh, Liz. So everything.", before a group of guards walked in.

The Woman, the Doctor and Liz stepped forward; Amy and Mandy behind them. "What are you doing? How dare you come in here?" The queen asked, fury boiling in her voice.

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now."

She eyed the guard up and down. "Why would I do that?" Suddenly, the man's head turned; revealing a Smiler. The Woman slowly slipped her hand into the Doctor's, hating the way things were happening when they heard Amy's voice behind them. "How can they be Smilers?"

The Doctor's face went blank; squeezing the Woman's hand as he answered the human's question."Half Smiler, half human."

Liz, who continued to speak the Smiler, was beginning to lose her patience. "Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?"

"The highest authority, Ma'am."

This time, the queen practically growled out the words. "I am the highest authority."

If it could, the Woman was sure that the Smiler would have nodded and sighed. "Yes, ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am."

"Where?"

"The Tower, Ma'am."

»»»«««

They were brought down into what looked like a dark torture chamber which, as the Woman stepped inside and noticed the grating containing another set of tentacles, wasn't that far from the truth, was it?

Amy noticed the grating too and gave the Doctor a questioning look. "Doctor, where are we?"

The Woman could hear it in his voice, she could feel it in her hearts. The Oncoming Storm had reached the surface and it was eager to be let out; the Doctor was struggling to contain it. This time, the Woman wasn't so sure if he should. "The lowest point of Starship UK. The dungeon."

It was borderline painful; listening to the animal's cries as it was tortured over and over again. Only the timelords could hear it, of course, the human's were blissfully ignorant of the inhumane act that was being performed inside that ship.

The Doctor's voice pulled her back from her haze. "There's children down here. What's all that about?"

A grey-haired man whom the Woman hadn't noticed until then was the one to answer. "Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

With cautious steps, the Woman approached a railing; glancing down at the animal's exposed brain - being continuously submitted to electric shocks. It truly broke her hearts. The Doctor joined her, breaking the news to the humans. "Yeah, look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it? Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle."

Liz looked confused. "What's that?"

The Woman finally spoke; her voice a mixture of pain and anger as she turned to look at Liz, disgust on her face. "It's an innocent, beautiful creature's brain being tortured. Oh, how truly handy it must have looked! The perfect solution."

Again, the queen looked confused. "I don't understand."

The Doctor's expression too became one of disgust; his voice barely hiding the extent of his anger. "Don't you? Try to. Go on. The spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving. Tell you what. Normally, it's above the range of human hearing. This is the sound none of you wanted to hear."

He glanced at the Woman who, as she gripped the iron railing harder, nodded. Then, he soniced a tentacle; enhancing the sound and allowing everyone to hear the creature's screams. It was horrible; absolutely terrifying - a sound that all of them would have paid to forget. The queen held up her hands; her eyes tightly closed. "Stop it... Who did this?" She turned to the man known as Hawthorne. He was solemn as he spoke; his mind completely at ease. "We act on instructions from the highest authority." This was not a good enough reply for Liz who growled out. "I am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now." No one so much as blinked. "I said now! Is anyone listening to me?"

The Doctor took another look at the queen's mask and called out to her, his voice low. "Liz. Your mask." She clearly did not know what her mask had to do with the creature or what was being done to it. "What about my mask?"

The timelord threw it at the queen but it was the Woman who answered; slowly walking back towards the group - her hands clenched into tight fists next to her petite body. "It's old. Very, very old, Liz - too old. You said that it's been sculpted perfectly to your face and you're right, it was. You haven't been on the throne for ten years; it's been nearly three hundred. You've repeated the first ten years of your reign over and over again and they've always led you here; the Tower of London. And, I presume, a choice. And you..." The blonde walked towards a monitor near where they stood; the Doctor pulling Liz towards it and making her sit down. "You chose to forget." They all glanced at the two buttons in front of the monitor which read Forget and Abdicate. Liz looked over at Hawthorne, grief on her face. "What have you done?"

The man spoke slowly, his hand inching towards the monitor's on switch. "Only what you have ordered. We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He finally started the video and they all watched as a video-version of Liz ended all their doubts.

_"If you are watching this. If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London. The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travellers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we have done to it breaks my heart. The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. _

_And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the Forget button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."_

Amy looked devastated and slightly dazzled; glancing at the Doctor. "I voted for this. Why would I do that?"

She didn't know the Doctor well enough to know that he was on the brink of exploding; the storm in his soul was slowly slipping out of his reach and the Woman knew that it would be bad, very bad. He had always been like that, even when they were children... the kindest of them all, except when he was angry. Then, one should only seek shelter until he calmed down. "Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know."

The ginger shook her head; her voice turning defensive, which caused the Woman to lay a hand on her arm. "I don't even remember doing it." The Doctor's face was emotionless. "You did it. That's what counts."

"I'm, I'm sorry." The timelord turned away from the girl; barely keeping his temper under control - his decision very clear in his mind. He wished he had never set foot on that ship; that he wouldn't have to lose one more time. And it was all Amy's fault - if he hadn't been with her, they never would have come here. "Oh, I don't care. When I'm done here, you're going home." He moved towards the other side of the monitor; pulling out his screwdriver as he figured out the best way to approach the situation; the best way to respect and honour the beautiful Star Whale.

Even when the Woman squeezed Amy's arm, silently telling her to let the man be, she insisted; walking towards the Doctor - wanting to know why he had to be so cold towards her when she had only been trying to help. "Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it." She banged her hand on the table. "Doctor!" He finally looked up, barely locking his eyes with Amy's. "Yeah, I know. You're only human."

The Woman left Amy's side and went to join the Doctor; helping him, supporting him. Her hand grazed his for a minute while Liz approached them; sounding as if she were close to tears. "What are you doing?" As she ran a hand through her hair, the Woman spoke; slowly and carefully as she allowed the Doctor to try and calm himself. "We're going to enhance the electrical charge and make the Star Whale endure the biggest one ever. It's brain will stop performing non-basic tasks so it will keep flying; the whale will just stop feeling pain. We're leaving it a vegetable."

"That'll be like killing it." Amy shook her head; looking at the timelord as if they were insane. It was enough to make the Doctor react, finally beginning to lose his cool. "Look, three options. One, we let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, we kill everyone on this ship. Three, we murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as we can. And then I find a new name, because I won't be the Doctor any more." Apparently, no one got the drift because Liz muttered. "There must be something we can do, some other way."

That was it. The Doctor stopped his work and, as the Woman closed his eyes, yelled furious at the humans who stood before them. "Nobody talk to me. Nobody** human** has anything to say to me today!" Amy and Mandy sat down: watching the timelords adjust the machinery in silence, clearly shocked by the Doctor's anger. The Woman, who was more sad than she was angry (and had realized that she was now the type of person who stayed quiet when blue) rested a hand over the Doctor's - squeezing it and letting out a soft sigh. She was surprised when the man spoke; in a tone low enough for only her to hear. "I'm sorry, Anthy. I'm sorry that this was the first place I took you; I'm sorry that you had to go through this. Next time, I'll take you somewhere nice. How does Barcelona sound to you? The planet, not the city."

Before the timelady could reply, Amy stood up and ran towards them - breaking the pair's concentration. "Doctor, stop. Whatever you're doing, Woman, stop it now!" She then went to grab Liz's wrist; pulling the queen towards the voting buttons. "Sorry, Your Majesty. Going to need a hand." Then, she slammed the older woman's hand down onto the Abdicate button. The Whale roared, the ship shook and then everything stopped. The Doctor, however, wasn't convinced yet. "Amy, what have you done?" The ginger just looked very sure of herself. "Nothing at all. Am I right?"

Hawthorne confirmed the news and the Woman began thinking back on the day; on everything they'd learnt. The last whale, the children... It made sense - it made perfect sense. How could she have not see it? The Doctor and her were the last Gallifreyans, the very last, and in all their years, they couldn't have just let Mandy cry without trying to help. Why was the Star Whale any different?

Amy smiled as she explained her logic to Liz. "The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it. That was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead. No future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind..." She turned around; facing the Woman and the Doctor who stood dumbfounded, "And the very last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

The Woman shot Amy a grateful smile and, when no one was looking, left the Tower and started to walk back to the TARDIS. It was too much for her; too many emotions all in one day and she had just regenerated mere hours ago - she was still trying to find herself. But since she wasn't in the mood for soul-searching, she settled for a warm bath and a change of clothes as she waited for Amy and the Doctor.

* * *

**Author's Note: **How did the Woman's conversation with the Doctor go at the end of this episode? Find out Thursday on: _**OF MEMORIES AND DALEKS**_. Want to know what happened between the end of the last chapter and the beginning of this one? Find out tomorrow on: _**WHILE IN THE TARDIS I**_.

So, guys, how did I do? Ah, I honestly had such a hard time writing this, you have no idea. I did try to keep all of the Woman's quotes her own and incorporate her nicely into the episode but I have no idea. I would love it if you could give me some feedback! Also, should I post whole episodes or divide them into parts?

Be nice and review and all those stuffs. Also, if you want to check out the Woman's signature outfit, I have a link up on my page!

**I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO. I ONLY OWN MY OC, THE WOMAN.**


	5. A Very Important Author's Note

**Author's Note:** Hello there, guys! I regret to inform you that I can't continue this fic, at least not as I planned to continue it. School has been much harder than I thought and I have not the time nor the patience to watch/change full episodes to fit my OC.

So, I plan on working on a different story instead; one with will be both a prequel and a sequel to this story. I was wondering if anyone wanted to beta my new idea? I'd explain everything about it but honestly, I just need help.

To spark your interest, the story will be called A_** LIFETIME OF POND**_ and it will be devided into a series of parts which I will post below.

* * *

_**A LIFETIME OF POND**_

**I.** Amelia's Afterword

**II.** A Life of Pond

**III.** A Life Without Pond

**IV.** Re-Enter Pond

**V.** The Three Ponds

**VI. **Bye-bye, Ponds

**VII.** Her Hearts' Ponds

* * *

I know the titles sound peculiar but they all make sense (at least in my head). SO, if you wish to help me, please review or PM me so I can talk to you and we can both develop this wonderful, surprising idea I came up with in the shower.

Love,

**- OhHowDemonsRan**


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